Oh, No! Another Newbie Intro!

[Guest guest]

Hello, Everyone,

My name is Dianne. I am 56 and married for 35 years. My husband

and I make our home in the desert of California on the border with Arizona.

Yes, this is a great location if you have arthritis, which probably explains

part of the delay in getting to a diagnosis. No matter. I figured out what

was going on with me, then went and told my doctor about it. Ha ha!

All of this has been a slow progression beginning with my question,

" Could this be CFS or Fibromyalgia? " back in the early 80s. All of the

signs were present, but my doctors didn't get it, so little was done. In

1991 lab tests were done and the results were no surprise to me, but shocked

my doctors into action. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis was the diagnosis and

medication was prescribed. The medication did not help much. Eight years

later I was able to prevail upon a new doctor to change the medication. We

were both surprised at how quickly things began to get just a bit better.

The RA diagnosis was suspected for years, but was not confirmed

until this year. Funny thing is that the tests had been done earlier, but

there was no RA " marker " found. Now it is there. Does that mean something?

Periodically, but not on a predictable basis, I would become

" slightly " ill and have the early signs of coming down with the flu. The

flu was not the problem -- nobody catches the flu multiple times in the same

year. I was getting a weird rash on my face, but it would be gone before

the doctor saw me. Well, he got to see it this year and nearly fell over

himself apologizing to me for missing it. Lupus SLE is now added to the

list of active diagnoses.

I take two medications daily, Armour Thyroid and Celebrex (200 - 400

mg p. day, depending on the level of pain). they both work well, I guess,

but I am again at the point where the fatigue and pain are beyond what the

meds were helping with. I suspect that the Celebrex may be causing problems

with my digestive system, but the alternative to taking it is to take

steroids, which have way too many side affects on me. Weight gain is the

big one and I am already way over my ideal weight.

Added to the " mix " is Osteoarthritis. The osteo problems are in my

knees, spine, hips, feet, and ankles. The worst problems are with the knees

and result from multiple injuries and surgeries. An appointment is set for

11/14 for the MRI that will tell the doctors what is going on with the knees

now. The pain in the left knee is really slowing me down. A referral to an

orthopedic surgeon will follow. It is suspected that a piece of cartilage

is now " floating " in the left knee.

Overall, life is good! In spite of the problems, I can still do

pretty much what I want to do when I want to do it. at least that was true

until the past six months or so. I still do the usual things, but do them

slower and with more awareness of the pain.

My doctor will be referring my care for the RA and Lupus to a

Rheumatologist. I am not unhappy with that, but would like to know what to

expect and what questions I should ask him/her when I get there.

Any suggestions with regard to seeing the specialist would be

appreciated.

Thanks for you time,

Dianne